Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Question of the Day #48

So I'm sitting at JFK after getting off the redeye from LA, waiting for my flight to Burlington Vermont. Now if any of you have had the pleasure of experiencing delays, cramped quarters, horrible food and the smelly bar at JFK's old Jet Blue terminal during the holidays you'll be pleased to know that the new terminal boasts every convenience one can desire. (Although I would appreciate it if the man next to me would stop whistling sadly off key Christmas Carols.)

Bar like areas dotted with flat screen monitors pop up every gate or two. I had no idea what they were, so I touched the screen and discovered that this is where I should order breakfast. After selecting granola and yogurt and swiping a card, I turned on my laptop and discovered free Wifi, which sounds like a given, but it's not. At Burbank you have to pay for it. And at LAX, (at least in United's terminal) they don't even have it. They have little kiosks where you can access emails, but no way to use your own computer to go online and let's say, blog.

Last night, as I boarded the plane, I was handed a "Snooze Pack," including an eye mask and ear plugs. I already had my own, but what a nice treat that would be for a lesser prepared traveler, right?

Anyway, all this got me wondering about what it is that makes holiday travel bearable for other people. Wifi? Earplugs? Ipods? Granola in a flash?

9 comments:

Oh, oh, I know! For me, it's HOMEMADE snacks stuffed into my bigass travel tote!!! I cannot bear being starving, and presented only with asking for ten bags of three-pretzels-each, or buying something so fast-foody that I'll feel guily the whole flight. That, and about thirty dollars worth of trashy mags!!!!

I'm so predictable in my answers these days, kids, kids, kids. We flew a red eye here and it was pretty fantastic. Why? Because the kids were great. They actually slept and when they weren't sleeping they were being calm. No screaming, no kicking the seat in front of them, no fighting over crap, no fidgeting, no screaming for food, no trying to run around the plane. It was actually a really great flight. Z got to hang out in the cockpit during boarding, sit in the pilot's seat and say hi to her sister on the PA system. The added bonus for me was that after they fell asleep I watched three episodes of my favorite show on my nano. Oh and if any other haggard parents read this, I've flown alone with the kids twice before. Each time I brought a gift for the cabin crew. Just something little. I brought cinnamon twists from Whole Foods. Let me tell you, each time it was like magic. The crew were so amazingly nice to me and offered me more help and food than I even needed. I'm sure it wouldn't hurt even with two parents flying but I have yet to bring something when my husband is flying too.

That does seem like a pretty great airport.! We are traveling by car after Christmas, so Nintendo DS and a DVD player make the long drive much better with kids!Oh! Christmas cookies make everything bearable! :0)Have a wonderful holiday, Suzanne!

I recently flew without my little ones and while I was inconsolable during our goodbyes and could get home quick enough to scoop them up and gush all over them, the flight without them was an absolute DREAM! It was just me and a carry-on. Aaaah! When the whole is family traveling, I like to splurge a little to make the trip less painful. Whether it is a stop at TCBY, a glass of wine during flight or some ugly magnet, keychain or horrible t-shirt from an airport store (Why are these things so appealing in airports?). The excess just feels good.

We used to go to Hawaii every Thanksgiving. But since having kids, we don't travel during the holidays. Oh, take it back. We did go to Iowa once over Thanksgiving to visit my husband's parents. But that was four years ago and we haven't done it since. Air travel is just such a pain these days, with or without kids.